Under Directive 2009/125/EC ecodesign requirements should be set by the Commission for energy-related products representing significant volumes of sales and trade, having significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement through design in terms of their environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.

Point (a) of Article 16(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC provides that in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), and after consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum, the Commission shall, as appropriate, introduce implementing measures offering a high potential for cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, such as for products in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, environmental and economic aspects of air conditioners and comfort fans typically used in households and small commercial establishments. The study has been developed together with stakeholders and interested parties from the EU and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available.

The main environmental aspects of the products covered, identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulation, are energy consumption in use phase and sound power level. The preparatory study also identified possible refrigerant leakage as a significant environmental aspect in form of direct greenhouse gas emissions, representing on average 10-20 % of the combined direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

As shown in the preparatory study and confirmed during the impact assessment, there is a lack of information on the efficiency of comfort fans. However, in order to provide market surveillance authorities important information and allow efficient monitoring of the market for the purposes of setting minimum energy efficiency requirements in the future, product information requirements on comfort fans will ensure that the efficiency of the appliance and the measurement method used be well visible on the product. Furthermore, standby and off mode requirements are set for comfort fans.

The annual electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation was estimated to have been 30 TWh in the EU in 2005. Unless specific measures are taken, annual electricity consumption is predicted to be 74 TWh in 2020. The preparatory study shows that the electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation can be significantly reduced.

The preparatory study shows that requirements regarding other ecodesign parameters referred to in Annex I, Part 1, to Directive 2009/125/EC are not necessary as electricity consumption and sound power level of air conditioners in the use phase are the most significant environmental aspects.

Products subject to this Regulation should be made more energy efficient by applying existing non-proprietary cost-effective technologies that can reduce the combined costs of purchasing and operating these products.

The ecodesign requirements should not affect functionality from the end-user's perspective and should not negatively affect health, safety or the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing electricity consumption during the use phase should more than offset any possible additional environmental impact during the production phase.

The ecodesign requirements should be introduced gradually in order to provide a sufficient timeframe for manufacturers to re-design products subject to this Regulation. The timing should be such as to avoid negative impacts on the functionalities of equipment on the market, and to take into account cost impacts for end-users and manufacturers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.

In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation specifies the applicable conformity assessment procedures.

In order to facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the technical documentation referred to in Annexes IV and V to Directive 2009/125/EC in so far as this information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation.

In addition to the legally binding requirements laid down in this Regulation, indicative benchmarks for best available technologies should be identified to ensure the wide availability and easy accessibility of information on the life-cycle environmental performance of products subject to this Regulation.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC,